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Illinois Work Comp Benefits After You’ve Been Fired
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It’s illegal in Illinois to fire a worker because they filed a workers’ compensation claim. But some workers do get fired (or quit) for other reasons. One of the biggest concerns injured workers have is what happens if they get fired after getting hurt on the job. It’s a fair question. Normally, if you lose your job, you also lose your health insurance and your paycheck. But Illinois workers’ compensation laws are very different—and much more protective.
The reality is this: getting fired doesn’t take away your workers’ compensation rights. In fact, the law is set up to make sure you’re still taken care of even if you no longer have your job.
Let’s start with medical care. If your injury happened while you were working, your employer’s insurance is still responsible for covering 100% of your medical treatment related to that injury. So whether you’re let go the day after your accident or nine months later, your right to receive medical care continues—potentially for weeks, months, years, or even for life, if needed.
The same goes for temporary total disability benefits (TTD), which are payments made to you if your doctor takes you off work or places you on restrictions that your employer can’t accommodate. Getting fired doesn’t cut off those checks. If you’re still under medical care and can’t work, TTD should continue for as long as your condition requires. This includes when you have any restrictions at all. Even if you were actually working with restrictions when you get let go, they would have to start TTD payments again.
Here’s a fact that surprises a lot of people: it doesn’t matter why you were fired. Whether it was because of poor attendance, bad behavior, or even serious misconduct, you are still entitled to all of your work comp benefits, including TTD, as long as your doctor says you can’t work or you have restrictions. The employer took away your ability to earn wages, so the insurance company has to pay. We’ve seen cases where workers were fired for fighting, cursing out their boss, no shows or even being drunk on the job. It does not take away your rights (note we don’t encourage you to do those things).
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Losing your job also doesn’t affect your right to a settlement once your treatment ends. In some situations, being fired can actually increase the value of your case. That is because if you do not have a job to return to and can only find jobs making much less money, you may be entitled to a wage differential settlement that compensates you for your wage loss. That could make a case that would normally be worth $50,000 now worth $400,000.
Please note, there’s a big difference between being fired and quitting. If you voluntarily leave your job, your medical care remains covered, but your TTD payments might stop unless your doctor says you can’t do any kind of work. Quitting can also reduce your settlement value. Employers sometimes try to twist the facts and claim you “resigned” when you really didn’t. If that happens, it’s critical to immediately respond in writing and make it clear that you did not quit. In fact, we highly recommend that you never quit a job after a work injury, even if your company is terrible, without talking to an experienced attorney first.
We can help you handle that and make sure your rights are protected. If you’re dealing with a job injury and have questions, contact us for free, confidential help. We promise to treat you like we would a family member or friend.